Anne with an e- a new version of the story

Part 2- meeting Gilbert Blythe

ANNE

Anne looked at herself in the mirror and sighed despondently, her eyes were red and swollen so much that she had cried the night before, her nose was also red and her hair was horrible. She had had to cut them short after she had had the stupid idea of painting them black, believing it would help her look better, as she hated being a redhead, but all she had achieved was a green tint that wouldn't come out at all, no matter how many times she washed the threads.

When Marilla arrived home that night, after helping Rachel bake cakes for the town's charity bazaar, she had found Anne desperate, and the only solution she'd found was to cut the girl's hair very short. At first Anne resisted a little, but then she gladly accepted Marilla's suggestion as a punishment for her excessive vanity. The pastor would talk about it in church on Sundays, claiming that vanity was like a bonfire that consumed the human heart, putting at risk the soul of those who let themselves be carried away by the illusions it provoked. Anne had taken a risk, now the result was there, and for that she had to be punished.

There was no point in lamenting," thought Anne, as Marilla said, "what is hopeless, remedied is, all she had to do was go down, have some coffee and go to school.

While she was drinking her milk, she noticed that Marilla was watching her, and she said a little irritated:

- What is it, Marilla? Is my face dirty?

- Anne Shirley, have some manners. Who do you think you're talking to? - replied angry Marilla.

- I'm sorry Marilla, it's just that I'm nervous about going to school, I feel like locking myself in my room and staying there until my hair grows back. - the girl replied desperate.

- Why, Anne? It's just your hair. You're still the same. I'm sure your classmates won't treat you any differently because of it.

- You say that because you don't know how they treat me, and now with that short hair they're going to hunt me down even more. - said Anne, almost crying.

- I'm sure you'll handle it very well. Now come on, hurry up or you'll be late for school.

Anne reluctantly stood up from the table, took her coat, books, and her winter beret, and arranged it in the best possible way so that she could hide her new haircut. On her way to school she prayed quietly not to meet anyone she knew, and when she arrived in front of the school, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, took courage and went in straightening her dress nervously.

The first person she met was Diana. Her friend had already seen her at the weekend, when Marilla asked her to come to her house to try to calm Anne, who was crying non-stop because of her hair. So it was no surprise to see Anne with her short hair, she even thought she had become even more beautiful. Although she believed Diana had said it just to make her feel better, Anne silently thanked her for supporting her at such a difficult time.

As soon as she entered she had to take off her beret, and everyone looked at her in amazement, but to her surprise no one said anything, although she could hear some of the girls whispering softly. Curiously, the boys seemed not to have noticed her presence, as they focused their attention on something else, while they gathered in a corner of the room in a large group. To Anne's surprise, a well-known voice interrupted their thoughts saying:

-Hey, Anne. Don't you recognize me anymore?

Anne couldn't believe her eyes, there in the middle of the room, emerging from the group was Gilbert Blythe, if possible even more handsome than she remembered. No, thought Anne, did he have to come back just today, when I have that hideous hair? Why didn't he wait a few more months to come home? What hatred! He really had the power to make her feel stupid and to find her in the worst situations. She wanted to run out and hide under her bed, only not to see that boy looking at her in a way she didn't understand.